But anyways Joinville is really great! I really love the ward here! The members are all just super cool and really down to earth. So there are two wards that go to our building. It used to be one ward but was split a year ago. The other one has a bunch of richies but ours has really great people so im glad um here! There are a lot of returned missionaries as well so that is really cool! And the food here is actually amazing. Like the other day we were at the Godinhos house (they are an awesome family in the ward who was baptized two years ago but are some of the best members i know know) she made parmesan chicken and it was so good! So i dont have a lot to complain about!
The work here is like a said a lot different from Guaratuba. We just basically find and cut people every week so that we can try to find the elect and those that really want to be baptized. The best we have right now are Gabriel and Sonia and Sonia has been to church once. But it has been really difficult because she doesnt really understand our purpose there. Right now we feel like she kind of thinks were just the walk around pastors and it is really difficult to change that attitude in someone. The thing is that she loves the book of mormon and believes its true and reads it every day. But this week we are going to use that to try and motivate her more. I feel so bad for her. She is probably 55 years old and divorced so she lives alone. She doesnt have too much contact with her kids and i just feel like that would be so miserable staying couped up in that house all day! So we want to show her that the gospel can offer so much more!
But gabriel is really awesome! We have been slowly trying to change into the missionary attitude with him and show our real purpose there because the other elders who started teaching him six months ago would go over there and stay for hours watching tv with him... Really frustrating but he is a good guy! He was living with an inactive sister in the ward who used to be really solid but just made some bad decisions. But now they have been going to church pretty regularly and they just need to get married now. So I think our greatest hope is with him!
But I did an exchange with Elder Malkum the other day, one of the kids in our apartment and I love that guy! He has a few problems with rules and stuff but he serves everyone as much as he can and loves helping others. He is a great example of Christ when it comes selflessness and being humble. He definitely forgets about himself in that sense. But they gave a really good idea for lunch messages to try to help members and what they do in their ward is go to the members house and then after ask the member to share with them what they studied personally in their scriptures the day before. And of course most of the members say no which I was a little surprised at first. Then they talk about the importance of reading their scrips and then say the next lunch we are gonna ask the same thing. So we started doing that with some in our area and it is crazy how many members dont have the habit of personal scripture study! They are great awesome people but it shows really how hard it is to put that in first priority during our lives. It is something so simple but also so difficult for us as members to do but really will make all the difference!
Im so thankful for awesome parents I have who I always saw studying the scriptures! That is probably one of the greatest examples I always saw from them as a kid. And I know that is one of the biggest reasons that I am out here on a mission today. Thanks mom and dad!
But anyways I love and miss you all and hope that you are all doing great! Have an awesome week!
Love, Elder Keller
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